BRoP Interview #1: COLE GIBSEN

Today begins the first interview for the Blog Ring of Power (BRoP), featuring COLE GIBSEN. When she isn’t writing books for young adults, Cole can be found rocking out with her band, sewing crazy costumes for the fun of it, picking off her nail polish, or drinking milk straight from the jug–provided no one is looking. She debuts in March with two young adult novels–KATANA on March 8 from Flux and BREATHLESS by Crescent Moon Press on March 27.

ABOUT YOU

BRoP: How long have you been writing?

Cole: I wrote my first novel (thankfully shelved) in 2007. I’ve been writing ever since.

BRoP: When and why did you begin writing?

Cole: As a professionally trained and certified dog trainer, I used to own my own business. But after the economy collapsed and I had to close shop, I was faced with the decision of having to pick a new career. So I decided to pursue the one thing I’ve always wanted to do but never had enough guts to try before—writing a novel.

BRoP: When did you first consider yourself a professional writer?

Cole: The moment I held a finished copy of my book in my hands.

BRoP: What genre do you write?

Cole: I write young adult fiction because I love how raw emotions are at that age

BRoP: If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?

Cole: I think I’d want to be a nutritionist. I know that’s really weird, but food has also fascinated me.

Learn about Cole’s WRITING LIFE as her interview continues with E.M. LaBonte of the Blog Ring of Power–CLICK HERE!

KATANA: Kill Bill meets Buffy in this supernatural samurai tale.Rileigh Martin would love to believe that adrenalinegave her the uncanny courage and strength to fend off three muggers. But it doesn’t explain her dreams of fifteenth-century Japan, the incredible fighting skills she suddenly possesses, or the strange voice giving her battle tips and danger warnings. While worrying that she’s going crazy (always a reputation ruiner), Rileigh gets a visit from Kim, a handsome martial arts instructor, who tells Rileigh she’s harboring the spirit of a five-hundred-year-old samurai warrior. Relentlessly attacked by ninjas, Rileigh has no choice but to master the katana–a deadly Japanese sword that’s also the key to her past. As the spirit grows stronger and her feelings for Kim intensify, Rileigh is torn between continuing as the girl she’s always been and embracing the warrior inside her.

BREATHLESS:In a world where death is an ever-present shadow and motives are as dark as the bottom of the ocean, Edith must decide if her life is worth risking for a love that can’t survive past the shore. Obituary-reading emo girl Edith Small is broken – the end result of forcing herself inside a mold that doesn’t fit. All she wants is to conform to her strict sergeant stepfather’s rules long enough to make it to graduation day. But a boat accident threatens to unravel the life Edith has worked so hard to keep. After waking up in a hospital with a lacerated shoulder, Edith fakes amnesia. Because admitting she received her injuries from a blue-haired girl who breathes underwater is all the reason Sir needs to send Edith on the first bus to military school. Safe at home, Edith struggles to put the nightmare behind her. But the mysterious creatures that live in the ocean aren’t about to let her forget. After meeting Bastin – a strange boy with silver hair and black eyes – on a secluded dock, Edith learns about the war raging undersea to end human existence. A war that Edith, unwittingly, has become the key to winning.